


Pie Love You

by alecdvnpt



Category: Cut & Run - Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux
Genre: Baking, Domestic Fluff, M/M, Surprises, Teasing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-20
Updated: 2014-08-20
Packaged: 2018-02-13 13:40:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2152770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alecdvnpt/pseuds/alecdvnpt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With his Ma's recipe, Ty is determined to surprise Zane with a little home-cooked love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pie Love You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mindfluff](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mindfluff/gifts).



> Written as part of the Cut & Run Fanworks exchange.

Ty came through the front door in a huff. Making a beeline for the kitchen, he left the brown paper grocery bag on the counter and double checked the time, frowning slightly at the clock as he mentally calculated whether he had enough time before Zane got off work. With cooperating traffic, Zane would be home by seven-thirty pm, and it was already well past four. If he worked fast, he'd have everything ready by the time Zane walked through the front door.

Tonight wasn't anything special for them but ever since he'd dreamt of licking pie off Zane's abs, the image had stayed at the forefront of his mind. That was almost a week ago. Now with most of the ingredients he'd need to bake an apple pie on the counter, he was well on his way to making that particular dream come true.

But first, he had to make the pie. Easy.

Except he'd never really baked anything before, at least not with the intended outcome being something edible, much less something to impress his fiancé with. The last time he'd tried using an oven, Nick's ginger hair had completely disappeared beneath a crown of fire extinguisher foam. Now with Zane all but officially in charge of their shared kitchen, he counted his blessings that he hadn't been banned from it. Yet.

Dashing upstairs, he fished a worn pair of sweatpants and an old FBI t-shirt out of the laundry hamper. The navy blue t-shirt was faded and stained with clouds of white as if someone had puked bleach on them. Ty gave the clothes a quick sniff and threw them on. He grabbed his laptop from his bedside table and then padded back downstairs.

He set the computer to the side on the counter – easy access but still out of the way – and pulled up the email with his mother's apple pie recipe. He was still surprised with her willingness to part with the recipe, but the moment he mentioned Zane's name, Mara had completely changed her tune. A small part of him was still a little peeved that Mara treated Zane like the favourite son – especially since Zane had already stolen the title of favourite uncle from him where Amelia was concerned.

He gave the screen another cursory glance and pursed his lips. Apple pie. Simple enough.

As it was, only two other people knew of his plan: his mother, and the overzealous grocery store lady who had helped him find the cinnamon sticks and then given him her own apple pie recipe while blatantly flirting. For the first time, he'd cursed Zane for not giving him a ring in return – or at least something that would repel his would-be suitors, male or female.

Ty emptied the grocery bag, taking out the cinnamon sticks, which his mother had forced him to buy – he'd raided their spice cupboard earlier only to find an empty jar marked 'cinnamon' in Zane's scrawl; a dozen green apples; and a half-eaten bag of Cheetos. Mara had given him leave to buy frozen piecrust but he figured if he was going to make a mess in the kitchen, he might as well go all the way.

The rest of the ingredients they already had. Ty couldn't help but feel oddly proud of how well used his kitchen felt and how well stocked it was – a far cry from its state during his bachelor years. He pulled out an assortment of mixing bowls and utensils and set them out on counter, his gaze lingering on the computer screen each time he passed it. Luckily for him, baking – unlike cooking – was more a science than an art. He had his list of instructions and all he needed to do was follow them to the letter and hope for the best. He was good at that.

First off, combine everything in a food processor. Fuck – did they even own a food processor? Pulling open cupboard doors, Ty stood rooted in the centre of his kitchen staring at the myriad of appliances staring back at him. He wasn't sure what a food processor even looked like. Luckily, he had his mother on speed dial.

"Ma, do I have a food processor?" Ty blurted out as soon as the call connected. "Ma?"

A long-suffering sigh came through the line before Mara's familiar voice greeted him. "Well hello to you too."

Ty began to tap the counter top impatiently. "Food processor, Ma," he blurted, hands gesturing extensively at all their neatly stored kitchen appliances. He made a mental note to label them all, or maybe actually learn their names.

There was a long pause before Mara sighed and answered, "Yes, you have one."

Brows pulled together in thought, Ty squinted at the assortment of glass and metal – some he'd seen Zane using – and found one he was more intimately familiar with.

"We have a blender," he stated dumbly.

"It's sort of like a blender."

"Can I use the blender?”

"No." Ty bit his lip, holding in his whine of protest when Mara carried on. "You've seen Zane use it, dear, when he made those crab cakes, remember?"

Ty scrunched his face as he wracked his brain. He remembered eating the crab cakes – they were good. Then he remembered Zane laughing at him.

"The one with the twirly blades?"

Mara chuckled softly, her voice soft as if she was humouring him. "That's the one. Did you get everything you need?"

"Uh," Ty spun around and checked his laptop screen again. "I think so." Ty squinted at the words on the screen. "Flour – I need flour. We have flour," he said absently as he opened the pantry and surveyed the shelves. He'd seen Zane fling a handful of it onto the counter just the other day so he was fairly sure there was a bag of all-elusive flour lying around somewhere.

"Bottom cabinet next to the pantry," said Mara.

Ty crouched down and found the flour exactly where she said it would be. "How do you know where Zane keeps the flour?" he asked, frowning.

Mara laughed. "Tyler, only two people cook in that kitchen of yours and neither of them are you."

Ty grunted in reply as he cradled the phone with his shoulder and grabbed the flour, along with the salt and sugar out of the pantry, setting them on the counter with everything else.

"You haven't told him anything have you?" he asked her. "This is supposed to be a surprise."

"Oh, stop worrying. I don't know what the big deal is. You know he loves that recipe.”

“Which is why I asked you for it, Ma.”

“Only the best for my son-in-law.”

Ty rolled his eyes. "We're not married yet, Ma"

Mara grunted her disapproval. "Minor detail. He's one of my boys and that's all there is to it."

Ty huffed and peered into the cabinets. "So, this food processor. Know where it is?"

"Check above the microwave."

"That's the blender!" He ignored the excitement he got from knowing that his mother didn’t know everything. If Zane were home, he'd bet she was rolling her eyes at him right now.

"Check under the microwave."

And there it was. Ty's shoulders sagged and he pouted, eyeing the food processor with slight disdain before setting it up on the counter.

"Call me if you need anything else."

Ty caught himself nodding before he realised his mother couldn't see him through the phone. "Thanks, Ma." Ty clicked off the phone and slipped it into his back pocket. Facing his ingredients, he made the motions of rolling up his sleeve and said, "Right, pie. Let's do this nice and easy."

Following the instructions to make the dough was easy enough. He'd first made sure everything was measured exactly and then dumped it all into the mixing bowl. He pulsed the mixture a few times and then began to add in ice water – a teaspoon at a time – until he was left with what looked like little clumps of grated cheese. Simple enough.

Ty would readily admit that kneading the dough was infinitely more satisfying than working the food processor – he felt like he was actually doing something. As the soft dough smooshed beneath his palms, Ty kept the warning about over-kneading in his mind, resisting the urge to roll it out and toss it into the air. He made a mental note to look up how to make pizza dough for next time.

Within minutes, Ty had the dough kneaded, separated into two thick burgers, and wrapped in plastic. He tossed them happily into the air a couple of times and stashed them in the refrigerator to sit for – he tapped at his laptop to bring up the screen again – at least an hour. Pulling out his phone, he tapped at the screen and set an alarm just in case. With the phone in hand, he couldn't resist firing off a quick text to Zane.

_What's for dinner?_

Ty waited a beat before slipping the phone back into his pocket. Figuring he’d clean up a bit before he started on the apples, he washed the food processor and wiped down the counter. His pocket vibrated and Ty couldn’t help but smirk at Zane’s reply.

_Shouldn’t I be asking you that question?_

Before Ty could respond, he received another message.

_Clancy agrees with me. She thinks you should start taking cooking lessons. Take better care of me._

Ty barked a laugh at his phone. _Don’t let Ma hear you say that._

_=)_

Shaking his head at Zane’s stupid smiley face, Ty grabbed another mixing bowl and started on the apples. With Zane’s favourite paring knife – a ceramic bright green monstrosity – the apples were peeled, cored and sliced with practiced ease. After all, he’d been chopping apples for Mara’s pies ever since he was old enough to handle a blade. Unfortunately, his interest in the kitchen had never progressed far beyond the thrill of stabbing innocent fruits and vegetables.

His phone vibrated again. _Thai? There’s that new place we’ve been meaning to try._

Thai food and apple pie? Ty made a face and shook his head. _Maybe something a little closer to home._

Ty set the apples aside to soak in water, quickly cleaned up and checked the time; he had just over forty minutes to kill before the dough was ready to be played with. Ty padded into the living room and switched on the stereo. A moment later, catchy country music began to croon into the room and Ty’s amusement quickly died when he caught himself singing along to Honky Tonk Badonkadonk. His phone droned loudly on the coffee table.

_Italian? I’ll grab some cheesecake and say hi to Ryan._

Rolling his eyes at Zane’s lame attempt at riling him up, Ty scoffed and shot back a reply. _No cheesecake but Italian sounds good. You can finally show him that ring on your finger._

Ty propped up a few cushions and settled himself along the length of the couch as he continued to hum along to the music. He had no idea who was signing but the guy had a nice voice and the melody was slow and calming. He was fighting a yawn when Zane replied.

_Clancy thinks I should take off the ring and try to get free dessert out of the guy. What do you think?_

Ty snorted. _Go ahead. I’m sure cheesecake tastes just as good when you’re freezing your balls off outside._

_Message received. Loud and clear._

Fluffing the cushion a little, Ty settled onto his side and smirked at his screen. _Pick up some milk and gummy bears on your way home._

_Yes dear._

Cradling his phone in his hands, Ty’s eyes began to drift close, soothed by the gentle twangs of the guitar playing in the background. The sudden vibration of his phone startled him. Ty grunted in irritation, his eyes heavy, and checked the message.

_What are you up to?_

Ty sighed, shot off a quick response – _napping_ – and then stuffed his phone beneath the cushion. With a contented sigh, his eyelids drooped close.

 

Ty jerked awake to his phone blaring foghorns and rolled right off the couch and onto the floor. He groaned and scrambled for his phone, bleary eyed, tossing cushions over his shoulder. Finding the source of the infuriating noise, he glared at the screen and shut off the alarm. He stood up and stretched, wincing slightly as his spine popped back into place.

Stifling a yawn, Ty checked the clock – he kept a lid on the momentary burst of panic before telling himself that he still had plenty of time. He padded back into the kitchen, tossed back a cool glass of water and willed himself back into the waking world. Fortunately, his laptop didn’t have any trouble waking up from sleep. With a quick tap on the keyboard, the screen came back to life and Ty squinted at the bright screen. Dialling the brightness back slightly, he spent a minute going over the recipe, and then stood in front of the oven.

Determined to make the oven his bitch, Ty poked at a few buttons and turned a few knobs until the right temperature was selected and the oven light turned. Feeling particularly triumphant, Ty retrieved the dough-pucks from the fridge, and grabbed a large rolling pin and his pie dish. He gave his hands a quick rinse and then recalled the recipe mentioning flouring his rolling surface, as well as Zane flippantly tossing a handful of flour onto the counter top. Following suit, Ty couldn’t help but frown at the haphazard mess staring back at him. Ignoring it, he unwrapped one of the pucks, tossed it into the air a couple of times, and then set it right in the centre of the counter and began rolling it out as Mara had instructed.

Lining the pie dish with the rolled out dough, Ty set aside the other portion for the lid, and then turned to his apples. He drained and threw them in with the dry mix of sugar, flour and freshly grated cinnamon, then gave them a good toss. With the pie lined and filling ready, the pie was assembled in a flash. He crimped the edge of the crust the ‘traditional way’ – at least according to the particular YouTube video he’d meticulously studied, slathered an egg wash over the lid, slit a few breathing holes across the top and the pie was ready. He carefully placed the dish in the oven – more careful than he probably needed to be – and closed the oven door with a quick flick of his foot.

Just over an hour later, Ty was sitting at the counter, marvelling at his pie cooling on the rack in front of him, when the front door opened and Zane walked in with bags of what he hoped was mouth-watering Italian food and his gummy bears.

“In here,” Ty answered when Zane called out. Sure that Zane would’ve smelled the cinnamon as soon as he’d walked in – he swore the entire house smelled like cinnamon, Ty watched with amusement when Zane rounded the corner. Zane’s gaze first settled on him – so lovingly sweet that it made Ty squirm slightly – and then shifted to the enticing pastry dish.

Zane opened his mouth, clearly about to say something, but changed his mind and closed it again. Ty watched as Zane’s eyes flicked back and forth between him and the pie, confusion plastered all over his lover’s face.

“I made pie.”

Zane made a small chocked sound and then cleared his throat. “You did what?” he asked. He set down the bags and leaned over the pie, loudly sniffing the air. He turned to Ty, eyes dancing with amusement.

“I made a pie,” Ty repeated. He shrugged nonchalantly, as if he did things like this all the damn time, and began to twirl the pie dish. “Apple pie.”

Zane nodded and took a seat on the bar stool beside Ty. “It smells good,” he said. Zane wrapped an arm around Ty’s waist, tugged him close, and then kissed Ty on the side of the head. “You made me a pie,” he said softly.

Chuckling, Ty turned his head, lips brushing Zane’s cheek. “You brought home dinner so I figured I’d be in charge of dessert.”

“You’re always my favourite dessert.”

Ty rolled his eyes and nudged Zane in the ribs. “I’m talking about food here.”

“I’m not.”

“You’re insatiable.” Ty turned to the pie and pulled it towards them. “Ma says it looks good.”

“Your mother’s recipe?” At Ty’s nod, Zane hummed appreciatively into Ty’s ear and said, “Guaranteed to be good.”

Ty snorted. “No pressure.”

“Did you use up the dough in the freezer?”

Ty pulled away and set his gaze firmly on Zane, a solitary brow raised. “The what now?”

“Pie crust,” Zane told him. “I always keep some in the freezer. You never know when you want pie.”

“I didn’t know we had any!” Ty exclaimed. He let go an exasperated sigh and dropped his head to rest on his arms. He twisted to face Zane with a frown.

Zane crowded against Ty, nosing his way down Ty’s neck. “You smell like pie,” he teased. Zane reached over and pulled out a fork, twirling it expertly around his fingers like he did his knives. “Bon appétit!”

Ty’s hand shot out and grabbed Zane’s wrist, stopping the fork just before it broke through the crust. “Cut a proper slice!” he flailed. He pulled the pie plate a little closer to him, making Zane laugh. “Shut up,” Ty muttered, grabbing the fork out of Zane’s hand.

“You roll your eyes at me when I say that to you!”

Ty snorted and scraped the fork over the crust as he gazed at it fondly. “This is my pie.”

Rolling his eyes, Zane reached into the drawer and pulled out a cake shovel. He tugged the pie out of Ty’s grip and plunged the metal straight through the crust, smiling innocently at Ty the whole time. He cut himself a decent sliver, grabbed a small plate and then presented it to Ty for inspection. At Ty’s nod, he took the fork back and took a bite.

“Good?” Ty asked, lips pressed into a small smirk at the pleasure on Zane’s face. “With that face you’re making, it better be damn good.” Ty pulled the plate closer and took the fork from Zane. The moment of truth – and it was good.

“So good.” Zane hummed his delight and tugged the plate back. “Get your own.”

Ty ignored Zane as he fought to temper his excitement. The apple was cinnamon-y sweet with just the right touch of tang. His mother would be proud. Ty couldn’t help but chuckle when Zane’s arm tugged him close to rest on his thigh. Zane leaned in, his tongue darting out to swipe the remnants of the sweet caramel at the corner of Ty’s mouth. Turning his head, Ty grinned just as their lips met in a hard, messy kiss.

“You taste good,” Zane hummed as his lips left Ty’s and travelled down Ty’s neck.

Not one to shy away, Ty guided Zane’s hand over his thigh to rest on his package, his groan going up in pitch when Zane cupped him and squeezed.

“Love you,” Zane whispered in his ear, the man’s prickly stubble tickling the side of his face.

Content to lose himself in the throes of passion, Ty almost whined when Zane pulled away. He paused at the look of amusement on his lover’s face.

“Something funny?” Ty rasped. He cleared his throat.

Zane blinked and grinned a Cheshire cat grin, instantly making the hairs on the back of Ty’s neck stand up.

“What’re–”

“Pie love you.”

Ty stared at his partner silence for a good minute and then blinked. He opened his mouth, paused – completely speechless – and then closed it again. Zane’s shoulders were shaking as he fought to keep his laughter from bubbling over.

"What did you just say?" Ty demanded, hand outstretched, pointing at Zane. "You said 'pie love you', didn't you?" To the man's credit, Zane had managed to keep a tight lid on the laughter. Ty shook his head. "Bad pun penalty," he said, emphasising each word with a jab to Zane's chest. "Pie love you? Really, Zane?" He continued to stare incredulously when Zane innocently shrugged back. "Double penalty," Ty muttered and pulled the plate back.

"Shut up," Zane laughed. He snaked an arm around Ty's waist as he nuzzled the side of Ty's head. "Pie really do love you."

"You're an idiot."

Zane grinned. "And you love me for it."

"I'm not saying it," Ty warned. He tried to turn away, but Zane tightened his grip on Ty’s waist, keeping him exactly where he was – his back pressed against Zane's chest.

"You know you want to." Zane teased, his tongue flicking the tip of Ty's ear and his breath warm on his neck.

Ty held back a groan, leaning back into Zane. After a long pause, Ty finally slumped in Zane's embrace. He could feel the triumph coursing through his fiancé's body and held back the urge to club the man over the head. With a long, pained sigh, Ty tipped his back to rest on Zane's shoulder and finally said the dreaded words.

"Fine. Pie love you too, Asshole."


End file.
